A browser for the wireless Internet (e.g., Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browser), or an application embodying a particular function (application program) is generally utilized to use various functions in a portable device. The application is divided into two types of applications. One is an application which is installed in a portable device during manufacturing thereof (hereinafter, referred to as “embedded application”). The other is an application which is downloaded and installed by a method such as the Internet while the application is being used (hereinafter, referred to as “download application”).
In the case of the embedded application, it is possible to know what type of application is installed, at a point in time when the application is installed in a portable device. Accordingly, the application may be manufactured to call another application as necessary. As an example, while a phone book application installed in a portable device is active, a user selects one telephone number and presses a menu key. Then, a menu capable of transmitting a short messaging service (SMS) to the selected telephone number may be provided to the user.
However, new services for mobile phones are being continuously released. Also, many services utilize a download application. In the case of a download application which is downloaded and installed after a mobile phone has been released, it is not possible to forecast interoperability of an application in the released mobile phone. Accordingly, interoperation between applications as described above is impossible.
A Graphic User Interface (GUI) operating system of a desktop computer, such as a personal computer, has provided various methods enabling an efficient interoperation between various applications. (1) A copy & paste method via a clipboard, (2) a share method via a file, and (3) a method of using a shell are representative examples.
In the case of the method (1), if a user selects and copies a portion of data or selects and copies all data while one application is active, the selected data is copied to a clipboard area of an operating system. After this, when pasting to another application, data of the clipboard is inserted into the other application. Accordingly, the user does not need to input data separately.
In the case of the method (2), if data is stored in a file system in one application, the stored data may be read by another application. In this instance, an extension of a file name may be utilized as a representative method for determining a data type which can be processed in another application.
In the case of the method (3), a shell which is a program operating with a GUI at all times is utilized. As an example, if an application is installed in currently widely used Microsoft Windows and the application is registered as a handler with respect to a data file having a particular extension, a menu is displayed when a user selects the file having the particular extension via a file search and presses a right button of a mouse. In this instance, the handler of the data file is included in the menu. The user selects one file in the menu and a handler application processes the selected file.
The methods as described above have been limitedly utilized in a mobile phone. This is because the operating system of the mobile phone has not generally provided a corresponding function for applications. Also, a user interface of the mobile phone is mainly for tasks and has almost no shell functions which can generally browse or process data files.